HMV chairman says it is 'only a matter of time' before they are UK’s biggest entertainment retailer

Paul McGowan says company will overtake Amazon

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HMV's chairman has claimed that the retailer is set to reclaims its title of Britain's biggest entertainment retailer, overtaking Amazon in the process.

The high street music and entertainment chain went into administration in 2013 with 223 shops and more than 4,000 jobs put at risk.

However, 144 of the shops were bought by restructuring company Hilco three months later. Paul McGowan, chief executive of Hilco, now claims that HMV will soon be the leading retailer in CDs and DVDs.

"It's only a matter of time before we overtake Amazon," McGowan is quoted as saying in The Telegraph. "HMV is re-engaging with music shoppers and getting them back into shops. This is about being an authority in music, not selling music as a commodity."

McGowan stated that a focus on live in-store appearances by artists and a 3 per cent increase in total sales of physical music in the year to June are behind the firm's rise. HMV's like-for-like sales increased by nearly 14 per cent since July with CD and vinyl sales increasing 21 per cent.

In addition there are now plans to open four new stores and to re-enter Ireland with eight stand-alone shops and 46 concession stores.